News & Updates — Revolutionary Ensemble

Born on this day was the great improvising bassist Sirone, who brought a highly intuitive, yet bluesy improvisational presence to the scene and contributing to several genre-defining classics of the '60s & '70s, not the least of which was his work with the collective Revolutionary Ensemble. From Atlanta, the former Norris Jones took up the trombone as a kid before moving to bass at 17. He started playing locally in the late '50s in a group with saxophonist George Adams. He was a sideman at sessions for Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson and other R&B artists. In '65 he moved to...

One of the best of improvised violin & viola, Leroy Jenkins was a member of Chicago's musicians collective AACM, co-formed Creative Construction Company (with Anthony Braxton) and the incredible out-jazz protest trio Revolutionary Ensemble (with Sirone and Jerome Cooper--check out Vietnam on ESP-Disk and Manhattan Cycles on India Navigation). He also worked with Alice Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Muhal Richard Abrams, Rashied Ali, the JCOA, Andrew Cyrille, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Frank Lowe, Henry Threadgill, Paul Motian and many more. A native of Chicago, he brought classical chops into a radicalized improv-jazz setting, with a percussive yet mesmerizing style. His group...